4.5 million Brits set to go overseas for festive period
Over 4.5 million passengers are expected to head abroad over the Christmas and New Year period, according to ABTA.
As always, ABTA is advising customers to leave extra time to get to the airports as the roads will be extremely busy, and to check in advance for any travel restrictions if using public transport.
It says tomorrow (Friday) will be the busiest day.
Chief executive Mark Tanzer said: "The weather in the UK looks set to be mild over the holiday period, which should help avoid travel disruption, but the roads will be exceptionally busy so customers should allow extra time to get to their departure port and check for line closures and engineering work if using public transport."
Over a million people will fly from Gatwick, 525,000 from Stansted, 330,000 from Luton, in addition around 480,000 are leaving from Manchester.
Heathrow is also anticipated to be very busy with substantial passenger numbers in line with other airports.
Hundreds of thousands of passengers are leaving the UK from Scottish airports, with 226,000 travelling through Edinburgh alone, as well as large numbers leaving from other regional airports.
A significant number of people are also travelling across the English Channel by ferry or through the Channel Tunnel, with hundreds of thousands heading off on the Eurostar who report their busiest days will be 22, 27 and 29 December.
The association said winter sun lovers are heading short haul to the Canary Islands, Antalya in Turkey and Hurghada in Egypt, long haul to Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
France, Italy and Austria are the most popular destinations for a white Christmas, with Lapland and Iceland also selling well this year.
Popular New Year’s Eve breaks include New York, Amsterdam, Geneva, Dublin, Barcelona and Budapest and domestically London and Edinburgh.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
Vegas’s Billion-Dollar Secrets – What They Don’t Want Tourists to Know
Visit Florida’s New CEO Bryan Griffin Shares His Vision for State Tourism with Graham
Chicago’s Tourism Renaissance: Graham Interviews Kristin Reynolds of Choose Chicago
Graham Talks with Cassandra McCauley of MMGY NextFactor About the Latest Industry Research
Destination International’s Andreas Weissenborn: Research, Advocacy, and Destination Impact
Graham and Don Welsh Discuss the Success of Destinations International’s Annual Conference
Graham and CEO Andre Kiwitz on Ventura Travel’s UK Move and Recruitment for the Role
Brett Laiken and Graham Discuss Florida’s Tourism Momentum and Global Appeal
Graham and Elliot Ferguson on Positioning DC as a Cultural and Inclusive Global Destination
Graham Talks to Fraser Last About His England-to-Ireland Trek for Mental Health Awareness
Kathy Nelson Tells Graham About the Honour of Hosting the World Cup and Kansas City’s Future
Graham McKenzie on Sir Richie Richardson’s Dual Passion for Golf and His Homeland, Antigua
ADS PRO 
France prepares for a massive strike across all transports on September 18
Turkish tourism stalls due to soaring prices for accommodation and food
CCS Insight: eSIMs ready to take the travel world by storm
Germany new European Entry/Exit System limited to a single airport on October 12, 2025
Airlines suspend Madagascar services following unrest and army revolt